The word on the streets of Soho is that cabbies soon may have to drive a bit further to fill their gas tanks. The talk? The demise of the big BP gas station, long planted on the southwest corner of Lafayette and East Houston (with the festive Puck Fair drinkery a bit farther down the block). Indications are that the BP lot will join up with the two smaller and previously-linked lots to the south, creating one mega-plot in a very desirable spot. But the changes may not come easy.
Down this way, certain types of development proposals are seen as fighting words. These lots would be covered by the newly-proposed extension of the Soho Historic District. Plus, the site is controlled by NYC's arcane M1-5B Manufacturing District zoning regulations, which could make certain projects problematic, but that hasn't stopped others with big plans and deep pockets from jumping into the fray. This very visible and heavily trafficked site sits right above the MTA's soon-to-be-fantastic Broadway Lafayette / Bleecker Street Station and is just a short hurl from the madness of the Broadway Mall. Whatever rises here would have fantastic views of the grand old Puck Building across Lafayette, not to mention the glassy penthouse of that wacky-faced thing from SHoP at 290 Mulberry. They say location is everything. We'll have to wait and see what that might bring.
· 298 Lafayette Development Rights [NYC Department of Finance website]
· All Houston Street Coverage [Curbed]
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